Verizon Says Jobs Suck, Offers Cheap Messaging

Highlighting certain jobs such as portable toilet cleaner, nursing home nurse and nanny, Verizon sympathizes in this viral video saying you won't need a job to afford its $5 per month unlimited text and picture messaging plan.

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Comments

### GREAT MOMENTS IN ON-LINE ADVERTISING

There is so much lousy on-line advertising out there,
it is a treat to call attention to some advertising that
actually works well, and is well done. Here then, is a
great moment in on-line advertising. ADVERTISERS, TAKE
NOTE!!

Go to the site, there is no claim of authorship, and
the website title is simply "VZW".

The site purports to depict people who have really bad jobs.

The viewer is not given any cues to distinguish whether this
site depicts real people doing real work, or whether the
content consists of actors in purely "staged skits" or
something else.

The viewer is given a comical video replay of teenagers
having a really bad day at their "jobs".

At the end, the viewer is given a link to a Verizon Wireless
website (with content and design obviously targeted to the
16 to 24 year old demographic cohort) that extols the value
and convenience of their service.

### WHY THIS ADVERTISEMENT IS WELL-DONE

The advertisement does not contain any "automatic avoidance cues"
(e.g. blinking text, insipid 'whack-a-mole' games, popups, corporate
legalese and branding) that are a sure-fire way to get you *ignored*
by all but the most credulous and uninformed of this Earth;

The advertisement conceals its true purpose until the very end,
but does so comically, in an engaging style, and without blatant
misrepresentation of the actual product or service being offered;

The advertisement effectively builds tension by playing on the
common anxiety of needing to work to make a living, but without
insulting the intelligence of viewers; THE ADVERTISEMENT DOES NOT
BUILD TENSION BY EXAGGERATING ABOUT HOW THE PRODUCT WILL SOLVE ALL
YOUR PROBLEMS AND TRANSFORM YOUR CRAPPY LIFE.

The advertisement is ENTERTAINING, and there is absolutely no
"brand positioning" until the very end, and only to the extent
necessary to present the offer.

The advertisement is UNOBTRUSIVE, and there is no need to actually
listen to the pitch, unless you are interested, and if you are, you
are likely to buy, because the humor, tension, and presentation of
the advertisement actually have at least SOME RELEVANCE to the
prospective customers of this service.

If you have ever paid someone money to do your online advertising,
I URGE YOU to take a look at this ad (no, I am not personally
involved, and do not know or care who produced this) and perhaps
there will be at least a few more gems like this, instead of the
oceans of wastewater through which we must wade in the ordinary
realm of on-line advertising.

Posted by: valued customer on May 27, 2005 5:38 PM

As time progresses, there are increasingly better commercials out there. Some of them don't advertise the product, they just use other mediums to attract the viewer and make them like the product. This may be effective advertising but it only attracts impulse buyers more than any other type of buyer. It also draws in people who don't think about the pros and cons of making the purchase.

However, there are some good commercials out there, and some car companies are getting very good at appealing to the right target market. One example of average to below average advertising is the car company General Motors. As their competition hones their advertising skills and makes new and attractive commercials, GM lags behind and simply rides on the fact that people value quality. GM has won many awards for the superior quality of their vehicles; however, how is the general populace going to know that if GM never mentions it in their commercials? Soon enough, GM has to learn how to flaunt their superior quality vehicles and to attract a particular target market rather than attempting to appeal to all ages.

This ad is not good. It is predictable and way stretched out for no good reason. The casting is not good. It feels obvious. It feels like a rehash of an old Mastercard spot about college kids' sucky summerjobs, that one even had a kid cleaning out a toilet.
This ad is not so good. I have to disagree with the "valued customer." Hmmmm. I thought I was a windbag. And Meera what are you talking about, huh? Where goes GM fit here? What's going on Steve, is Adrants being invaded ? Maybe being voted #1 attracts a "special" kind of "real people" posters.

Posted by: KRank on May 28, 2005 11:18 PM

who got voted #1?
GM, Verizon, or Adrants?

Posted by: Dave on May 29, 2005 12:15 PM

KRank.....You have excellent solutions in your brain. Crank them out. Give us examples of how this is similar to other crappy advertisings. Share your ideas to help these creative brain dead humans think a little differently.

NEVER NEVER NEVER apologize for being a “windbag” or type that someone else is. Why? It is similar to saying….. you do 10 second commercials, and someone else is doing 30 second commercials. Stay away from demanding others make 10 second commercials like yours. We are all in the same boat…to get these ad idiots to look at things clearer.

Meera makes an awesome point with her GM example. “GM dumbasses…say what you mean”! The word quality, award winning, professional will always be useless descriptions without driving in what the hell they mean.

I love the words award winning. Look at it as if it were a waitress. Do you care in anyway shape or form that she just got a big tip from the last table? Never. What the hell does it have to do with your food and service? Nothing.

Posted by: kab on May 30, 2005 2:31 PM

I apologize for being a windbag. And that customer is one too.

Posted by: KRank on May 30, 2005 6:57 PM

HELLO BUYERS,

We sell brand new phones unlocked sealed with complete accessories and also comes with 1year international warranty.We sell in wholesales price and retail price.And also we sell ipods,laptops at cheap price.